Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday launched the Viksit Bharat – Rozgar Guarantee and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G), the flagship program of the NDA government at the Centre, at Koduru Railway Station in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh.
Marking the launch of the nationwide rural employment programme, the Union Minister, along with state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister and In-charge of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Pawan Kalyan, initiated three development works worth $4.55 lakh in Mukkavaripalli village under the scheme.
Chauhan also distributed VB G-RAM G business cards to the beneficiaries. Union Ministers Bimasani Chandrasekhar and Kamlesh Paswan unveiled the promotional song for the mission, while Pawan Kalyan released the scheme’s information booklet and abstract of articles. The leaders also launched the VB G-RAM G e-portal.
Addressing the gathering, Naidu pointed out that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was also introduced during the previous UPA government from Anantapur district in Rayalaseema district.
He declared that the works were worthy $11,700 crore will be implemented under the VB G-RAM G scheme in Andhra Pradesh, with $7,700 crores coming from the Center and $4000 crores contributed by the state government.
He said the programme, which will be implemented under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, will transform villages across the state.
The Prime Minister said the scheme will provide up to 125 days of employment and support the creation of durable rural assets, including roads, drainage systems, canals, farm access roads and other infrastructure. “Modern technologies such as geo-tagging and biometric authentication would ensure transparency in implementation,” he said.
Highlighting the state’s achievements under employment guarantee programmes, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh generated 554.4 million man-days of employment through expenditure $16,695 crore in the last two years.
He added that the state has also completed 7,000 kilometers of cement concrete roads, established 40,000 shelters for livestock, 15,500 water basins, more than 107,000 agricultural ponds, 1,373 kilometers of roads in tribal areas, and developed horticultural farms on an area of 166,000 acres.
He said that the government has set goals for the current year of constructing 10,000 km of gravel roads, 1,500 km of cement roads and BT roads, 500 km of magic drains, and developing horticultural farms on an area of 100,000 acres.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Center has decided to spend $7.5 lakh crore under VB G-RAM G program to accelerate rural development across the country. He announced that Andhra Pradesh would receive $7,700 crore during the first nine months of implementation.
Gram Sabhas will identify and approve development works under the scheme, Chouhan said. Referring to his famous nickname “Mama” in Madhya Pradesh, he joked that he has now become the “Uncle” of Andhra Pradesh as well, adding that “Uncle never comes empty-handed.”
He announced that the Center will sanction 74,212 permanent houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and will provide them $422 crore for rural road connectivity in Andhra Pradesh. He handed over the punishment documents to Naidu and Pawan Kalyan.
The Union Minister also announced that the Center would procure 216,250 metric tonnes of Totapuri mango under the market intervention scheme and handed over the relevant approval documents to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister said that the Center has provided strong support to the development of Amaravati, where construction activities are progressing rapidly. Criticizing the opposition, he pointed out that those who opposed Amaravati are now raising a new slogan of ‘Mafegun’ and asserted that no one can stop the development of the state capital.
Naidu reiterated that the Polavaram project will be completed before the next Godavari Pushkaram and dedicated it to the nation. He said the Visakhapatnam steel plant had been protected, the long-awaited railway area had been secured and major investments, including a Google data center and a fighter jet manufacturing unit in Puttaparthi, were coming to Andhra Pradesh.
Ministers of State Satya Kumar Yadav and Anajani Satya Prasad, MLA Arava Sridhar, senior officials and other public representatives attended the programme.
